Classes to become a better recreational diver?

[Edward3c]

This. Of all the classes I've taken, I reckon that Rescue is the one I learned the most from. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with enough dives and sufficient technical skills to do that course. Having completed Rescue, there are only two classes I seriously consider taking these days. That's GUE Fundies and CMAS 3*.

I want Fundies to advance my own diving skills, and I want CMAS 3* to advance my dive leadership skills. I have zero - at best - interest in "going pro" in the PADI system, but the dive leadership/assistant instructor curriculum in either PADI DM, CMAS 3* or (I believe) BSAC DL will probably make me a better diver considering that diving is a lot more than my own ability to backfin or stay in perfect trim with +/- 0.5m depth variation during my safety stop. The big difference between DM and 3* or DL is that the former is geared towards commercial diving ops, while the two latter are geared towards club diving. The CMAS 3* curriculum we have include decompression theory, dive boatmanship, dive leadership above and below the surface, rescue operations and instruction. Among other stuff (it's two full weekends of theory, and a minimum of eight dives).

BSAC DL is only 2*, BSAC AD is 3*.
If you haven't done the earlier BSAC courses it's a big step to grasp the rescue elements as they include rescue starting in the entry level course.

 

[Storker]

BSAC DL is only 2*, BSAC AD is 3*.

Thanks for the correction. For me, the important part of 3* is the dive leadership and all the other skills that are relevant to the above-water part of diving. I guess that's why I compared it to BSAC DL.

 

[Edward3c]

Thanks for the correction. For me, the important part of 3* is the dive leadership and all the other skills that are relevant to the above-water part of diving. I guess that's why I compared it to BSAC DL.

DL teaches dive management for known site, AD is all about dive management for unknown sites and expeditions.

 

[Remy B.]

Another thread I've been following brought up a tangential idea which I've been tossing around for a while so I figured it was a sign from the dive gods.

What classes can I take to become a better recreational diver?

Some background info:

• I'm PADI AOW. However, I'm open to other agency recommendations.
• I'm willing to consider classes that have specific gear requirements, but changing my beloved gear just for a class would only occur if the training were truly special.
• I have a small PFO. Though I'm medically cleared to dive & have no history of DCI, I err on the side of caution & dive conservatively. Therefore, I know for a fact that I will never dive deeper than 130 ft. nor will I do any tech diving.
• I do not want to become an instructor.
  
• I'm based in nyc, but am willing to travel for training.

Do you really have 200+ dives ?

Why you don't start with what specialities have you done so far ?

 

[runsongas]

what specialties are needed for recreational diving other than nitrox?

to OP, you may want to look at GUE Primer/Fundies Part 1 also.

 

[ronscuba]

You said you want to become a better recreational diver. Better in terms of skill or better meaning more fun ?

Maybe it is a photo or video class. Maybe it is a class for specific skills that are lacking.

I think a big question is what is it about diving you enjoy most. From that point of view, how do you make diving even more fun for yourself ?

.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You said you want to become a better recreational diver. Better in terms of skill or better meaning more fun ?

Maybe it is a photo or video class. Maybe it is a class for specific skills that are lacking.

I think a big question is what is it about diving you enjoy most. From that point of view, how do you make diving even more fun for yourself ?

I can't speak for the OP, but for me, when I asked the same question about becoming a "better diver" I think what I had in mind was mostly "safer diver," though I suppose "more skillful" is related to "safer." As it turns out, it was all interrelated, including the idea of "more fun." For one thing, I didn't have the skill to position myself very precisely in the water to get a good look at (or photo of) things I wanted to see. I find I have more fun when I can focus on the goal, such as seeing marine life, rather than the mechanics.

 

[barth]

After aow + nitrox I did fundamentals. My skills did improve. Diving was more fun. It became easier to do photography.

The best time I had was during coarses and projects. It was not always easy and fun. Sometimes it was very demanding. It was not cool to get a provisional for cave 1 and drive 1000 km back home. But after a lot of training passing cave 1 and joining the Morpheus project was worth it.

For me my Gue training makes it easier/possible to join projects.

 

[Remy B.]

Will you be a conscious and safe diver or do you want to be better skilled diver

To be more a conscious diver for me there are three essentials

I find the Deep Diver speciality very good, it go more in deep a bout the danger related to depth the calculation of gas, gas consumption, in short it opens your eyes more about the dangers of diving deep.

De other one will be Solo diver

and Rescue diver.

To be more a skilled diver.

Go the Tec route or like mentioned take courses like GUE fundamental or courses from particular instructors from whom you hear good results and experiences, I will say they normally are Tec divers as well, so it go back to the tec roots.

 

[NYCNaiad]

Second this.
I took the Fundies training, even though I have no real desire to "Go Tech".
It was a great class, and truly added to and honed skills.

Learning on a variety of different gear configurations is a great idea, imo. You begin to decide what works best for you, and your style of diving only after you have experimented and trained on a variety of set ups, and tested different techniques to see what fits you best.

As you suggested early on, training with an agency other than the one you first certified through often gives you new perspectives, tools and insights.

Thanks. I agree with you re: equipment. I think newbies often buy equipment too soon. Before I bought mine, I dove with a variety renting from different shops to see what I liked. The one I did not actually try was BPW.

Here's a suggestion, get some tech training. Wait, wait, hear me out....I know you said you didn't want to do tech diving or go deep!! But, you could do something like an intro to tech course and/or Advanced Nitrox. You can do both courses without going below 130'. You can also do these courses on a single tank, so no need to worry about doubles. They might entail some gear reconfigurations, but I think you'll find these to be a good thing too.

For me, the tech training not only qualified me to do technical diving, but it made me a much better recreational diver. In particular, learning how to plan your dive, including gas consumption, was very helpful even for recreational dives. Also, the overall training to dive "above" the recreational level, increased my overall skills and made the entire recreational dive even easier to manage.

Since you're willing to travel, I highly recommend Jon Belisario at Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City, NC. He's really a gifted instructor.

Appreciate your detailed answer. I only mentioned no tech because I didn't want there to be discussion about getting deep into a direction I knew I wouldn't go. But I have no problem exploring a little tech training to make me a better diver in general. I should have been more specific in my original post.

What's involved with an intro to tech course? (I'm at least a little familiar with Fundies, etc., but hadn't seen something specifically called Intro to Tech.)